By Brady Lang

Captain Harvey is back with his take on the Riders

Aug 2, 2018 | 2:00 PM

It’s Rider game day; this week the team will travel one province over to take on the Eskimos.

A lot has changed with the Riders since the loss last week to Calgary. The team released Canadian running back Jerome Messam after charges were laid against the Brampton, Ont. native. The Riders also have a bolstered offence with the return of Zach Collaros and Duron Carter to the offensive side of the football.

North Battleford resident and Riders Super-fan Captain Harvey told battlefordsNOW his take on the quarterback situation.

“I thought [Collaros] was going to be out longer; by the way Chris Jones was handling the carousel of quarterbacks,” he said. “I thought he’s training the next man up, but that wasn’t the case. Coach Jones knew when Collaros was coming back and he knew the situation, and I’m glad about that.”

The issue with the Riders offence seemed to be not getting any offensive momentum, or sustaining the momentum when the ball fell in the Riders favour. Captain Harvey said that may be because Brandon Bridge just isn’t quite ready.

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“I don’t think Bridge is a starting quarterback in the CFL quite yet; the game has to slow down for him,” he said. “We can’t blame it on the offence; the game has to slow down for him to find his reads. That being said, I always thought Collaros was going to do well. I feel like that’s going to be the finishing touch.”

With the 18-game season now a third of the way through, many fans have been looking at the schedule and the way things have been falling for the Riders. The team started off with five games against Eastern Division opponents, and with the division being generally weaker, a 3-2 record isn’t the end of the world. Captain Harvey believes that the 3-3 overall record for the Green and White isn’t all that bad.

“We’re doing better than we were last year, we’re at 500, and that’s good,” he said. “As long as we stick around at 500 were going to do okay. We just need to ramp it up at the end of the year. I look forward to the Riders in the playoffs, and I think Collaros can bring us into the Grey Cup.”

Captain Harvey also told battlefordsNOW who he thinks will be walking the plank tonight in the City of Champions.

“Edmonton hasn’t got the greatest defence that in itself gives Collaros a bit of an opportunity to make some plays and build that confidence up,” he said. “I think we’re going to take Edmonton by about 12 points.”

You can listen to the game, starting at 5 p.m. with the pregame, and the play by play at 8 p.m. on the voice of the Riders, CJNB-CJNS.

brady.lang@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @BradyLangCJNB